Eh Amigos Cantina - Port Colborne

20 Clarence Street
Port Colborne, ON
L3K 3E8

905-835-8989

This is the third time I've been to Eh Amigos Cantina, and I've had the same thing all three times because I love it so much: Veggie Burritos. Yum. The beans, rice, veggies, and pineapple make for a flavourful, moist burrito. Sometimes when you skip the dairy, it can be dry. Not so here.

Before penning this little review, I wanted to see what other menu items could be made vegan, so I sent a note to the restaurant, and here is their awesome response:

"Hi Terry!  We have veggie burritos or bowls that are loaded with veggies that does come with cheese sour cream and aioli however you can omit those items to make it vegan.  We can also make vegan tacos with whatever toppings you like that may include refried beans black beans lettuce pico de gallo guacamole peppers grilled pineapple jalapenos amd so on.... We also just introduced vegan ice cream and brownies for dessert   I hope this helps. we make everything made to order so u can build a burrito or taco anyway u like it!"

Obviously I was thrilled to receive such a fabulous response - even vegan ice cream and brownies?!!!! Check out the menu here. They also suggested that they are very open to talking with their vegan customers and that "sometimes the best thing to do is come talk to the cook directly and tell us how you like it and we will try our best to accommodate."

Parking is street parking. There are parking spots along the canal walkway that are free, and so far I have always found several to be available.

Washroom is in keeping with the rustic mexican decor and clean. Love the sugar skeletons on the walls.

Hours:
Monday, Tuesday: 11am - 3pm
Wednesday to Saturday: 11am - 9pm

How To Connect:
Website
Facebook

Root 8 - Beamsville

5041 King Street
Beamsville, ON

905-563-1155

I was super excited to hear about an all vegan restaurant coming to Beamsville and Root 8 did not disappoint. The restaurant has a real cafe feel to it with its turquoise distressed wood decor.

The menu consisted of salads, wraps, bowls, chili, panini, and little dishes of mac and cheese, and tofu nuggets.  There is also a smoothie and juice menu, along with daily specials that included a hummus tray, french onion soup, and a burger with all the fixin's on the day that I went.

I ordered the panini with sweet peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, spicy mayo, and mozza cheese (cashew cheese). I also enjoyed a chocolate, almond butter 'muffin' for dessert. Loved them both. I ordered take-out so I cannot speak to the wait-staff's attentiveness, but I was thoroughly charmed by the person who took my order. She was informative about the menu items and friendly without being intrusive while I waited.

Panini with sweet peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, spicy mayo, and cashew mozza cheese.

Chocolate, almond butter 'muffins'

Plus, in keeping with their environmentally friendly philosophy - I received this lovely take-out bag and will, in future, receive $1 off my meal if I bring it in. Great idea.

$1 off my next meal if I remember to bring it in

Parking is free in this mall.

Hours:
Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 11am - 6om
Thursday, Friday: 11am - 7pm
Sunday, Monday: Closed

Hours will be extended in the summer.

How To Connect:
Facebook
905-563-1155

The Black Forest Inn - Hamilton

Black Forest Inn
255 King Street East
Hamilton, ON

905-528-3538

If you ever heard of or been to the Black Forest Inn, you are very likely to be surprised to see a review about it here, and not just because it's located in Hamilton. This restaurant is super heavy on animal products and normally I would not be found in this type of restaurant. However, due to family circumstances, this is exactly where I ended up.

I called ahead, on three separate occasions to try to talk to different people about vegan options, because each time I was completely unsatisfied by the options. Or lack of. And I didn't get the feeling that anybody cared that I was going to be attending lunch and not really going to be able to eat anything.

There was one single menu item that was available to me as a vegan: vegetable plate. It is listed on the menu with a fried egg, so obviously I skipped that, still quite uncertain as to what to expect. Well, I was most pleasantly surprised. The vegetables are cooked with margarine, and I was promised that it was vegan.

My plate was overfull and contained cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, sauerkraut and the most flavourful potatoes I've had in a long time. I almost couldn't finish it (almost), and I completely enjoyed it.

Having said that, I want to be very clear - there was no hope of having coffee or tea unless I wanted to drink them black, and the dessert menu was not even close to being vegan friendly. I could have started with a salad and a vinaigrette, but the salad was a meagre iceberg lettuce version that I could not even bear to try.

Bathrooms were an adequate size and very clean.  Decor was Austrian/German and looked old and outdated, but again everything seemed very clean.

Parking was available in a city lot across the street, as was street parking.

They do not take reservations.

Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 11:30am-9pm
Friday and Saturday: 11:30am-10pm
Sunday: 11:30am-9pm

How To Connect:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

Hippocrates' Daughter - Grimsby

1 Mountain Street
Grimsby

289-235-8841

This little vegan gem recently (July 22, 2016) sprouted up in downtown Grimsby, thrilling the vegan and vegetarian community. The decor is eclectic and fun with mismatched tables and chairs, tables sawn in half and hung on the wall for decoration, and a huge window for people-watching.

On this Friday night, 10 people from the Niagara Vegan group met to enjoy the new menu. A menu that no longer contains any oil and covers everything from apps, bowls, and sammies to main salads, entrees and desserts. Check it out here.

 The first time I ate here, it was taco Tuesday. I had a pulled jackfruit taco and a fish taco. Both were amazing, but the fish taco (my first) made me into a lifetime fan. The portions were hardy, fresh, and delicious.

This time, I had the beanloaf with mashed sweet potato and spinach. The loaf was moist and held together well. It had a subtle sage and fennel flavouring, topped off with a ketchup glaze that added a nice sweetness and pop of tomato flavour. The mash was delicious and creamy.

The rest of the gang ordered the Kevin Fakin' Burger (black bean patty, cheese, portobello bacon), the mac and cheese (the recipe for which could not be pried out Aisha), and the Laughing Buddha bowl (chickpeas, avocado, sweet potatoes, spinach, marinated cabbage, and tofu fried rice topped with turmeric tahini dressing). When the food arrived, the noisy room silenced. Everyone was eating, concentrating on all of the flavours, and very happy.

For dessert, we were offered date squares, brownies, and an off-the-menu treat of chocolate chip bars. I tried the chocolate chip bars which had a real blondie feel to them, and they were amazing. Soft, chewy, full of vanilla and chocolate flavour. The date squares and brownies were also very moist and flavourful.

Hippocrates' Daughter is located in downtown Grimsby with street parking available, in addition to the mall parking across the street and the lot behind Giant Tiger. All easy to find and less than 5 minutes' walk.

Isn't licensed.

Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday - 12pm to 8 pm
Closed Sunday and Monday.

How to Connect:
Facebook
Website
Instagram
Twitter

Kully's Original Sports Bar - St. Catharines

223 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines
905-684-1771

Kully's Original Sports Bar

We wandered into Kully’s after our initial restaurant choice was discovered to be closed for lunch, so I hadn’t prepped and called ahead and mapped out a plan. That’s something I always like to do, given a chance. No worries though, Kully’s did not disappoint.

This was a just a quick lunch, and I noticed a veggie wrap on the menu that looked close to vegan. Though it listed goat cheese, I was assured that sans cheese, it was vegan. The wrap was pretty good, made with peppers, onions, roasted beets (nice unique touch), and a balsamic vinaigrette. I prefer my wraps to be warm, so I should have asked, as this is served cold. Still, it was delicious and filling. The fries were exceptionally good, obviously hand-cut, and cooked to perfection just slightly on the dark side.

Some of the other choices that could be made vegan:

Kully’s classic salad - romaine, iceberg, spring mix, cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, balsamic dressing - $8.99 (ask for no croutons and cheese)
Stir-fry - peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli with rice and teriyaki sauce - $11.49
Veggie burger - black bean and veggie patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle (hold the Kully’s sauce) - $11.49
 - Additional burger toppings: grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, jalapeños, banana peppers, and avocado at $0.99 each

House-cut fries - $4.49
Kettle chips - $5.99
Sweet potato fries - $5.99
All three of these come with dips, but none of the dips in the restaurant are vegan. Ketchup or vinegar are probably your go-tos.

When I called it was also suggested that the white pizza could be made vegan by dropping the cheese option. A note to keep in mind is that the red sauce for the pasta and pizza both have parmesan cheese right in the sauce and so, obviously, are a no-go.

Kully’s is a typical sports bar - “Let’s raise a glass to the game.” Though the lunch crowd on Monday was moderate, I can imagine that game days in the city are hopping. If that’s your thing (or perhaps more poignantly, if that isn’t your thing), you might want to check the schedule of the local teams, especially the Ice Dogs, to see if there is a game or not before booking your reservation.

Kully’s decor is classic: deep rich woods accented by ebony chairs and fixtures. TVs abound so everyone in the bar gets a good view of the game. Walls are adorned with the smiling faces of athletes (Wayne Gretzky, Muhammad Ali, Joe Montana, and Michael Jordan, to name a few), plus a wall-sized chalkboard near the front windows shows what’s happening every night of the week. And something is always happening here.

Hopefully, you fill up on your entree because there is no dessert option there at the present that could be made vegan. Also, they did not have any non-dairy creamer or milk for coffee or tea.

Washrooms: Sorry, didn’t need to check them out here.
Parking: Street parking, pretty busy.

Hours:
Daily: 11am - 2am

How to Connect:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Phone: 905-684-1771

The Office, Tap & Grill - St. Catharines

22 James Street
St. Catharines

905-984-4440, Reservations recommended.

The Office, Tap & Grill

The Office is a casual, comfortable restaurant. Wooden booths, warm colours, soft lighting, and interesting art work. It has a hip vibe, but we saw customers that ran the gamut from toddlers to senior citizens, all appearing equally at home. If you are a vegan who may dine with an omnivore, the menu would have you both covered.

The vegan menu had some great-looking choices on it for both appetizers and entrees:

Frites and dip $6
Kale Caesar $12
Spinach Salad $12
Meze Platter $13
Buffalo Cauliflower $9
Quinoa Falafels $9

Veggie Burger $14
Penne Puttanesca $12
Zen Noodles $12
Tofu Caesar Wrap $14

I started with the buffalo cauliflower. It arrived on a slender platter with mixed greens in the middle and a thick drizzle of peanut sauce. The cauliflower pieces were a moderate size, easy to pick up with a fork, and lightly spicy. Dredged through the peanut sauce, they were delicious and addictive. With salad or fries, there was enough to make an entree.

For my main meal, I had the veggie burger. It was made with quinoa and lentils. The patty held together fairly well but was a little on the dry side. The burger was served with a corn cilantro salsa that was not memorable, but did add some needed moisture along with tomatoes and pickle. I had it with the fries which were also good, a nice crispiness and good flavour. All in all, both orders were a success.

To go along with your meal, they have some fun wine and beer options. You can bring your own wine for a corkage fee (Mon-Wed = free; Thurs = $5; weekends = $12) or choose from the wine list. They offer reds from California, Argentina, and the Niagara Region; whites from Ontario. Additionally, they offer ‘cheap and cheerful’ wines that they change up for $1/ounce. The beer is typically from micro breweries and runs $5.55 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

On the down side, they only offered dairy milk/creamer for the coffee and tea, though one of the proprietors (Greg Pearson) mentioned that “as the vegan menu rises in popularity, I'm sure it (a non-dairy option) is something we can add.” We were too full to order dessert and I didn’t think to check the menu, but Pearson mentioned that, “We currently have a vegan pumpkin pie on the menu with a cashew filling and rolled oat and date crust. It has yet to be added to the menu full time, but is getting very good reviews.” Sounds yummy.

The washrooms were decorated in a shabby chic style, leaning just slightly too far toward the shabby. The stalls were tight, requiring a bit of a gymnastic move to get out of the way of the door to close it. The taps were too small for the basin and barely stuck out far enough to get my hands under for washing. Having said that, the washroom was very clean and sported the coolest vanity top positioned under a large mirror; a perfect place to rest your purse for touchups, yet out of the way of the sink.

The Office is located in downtown St. Catharines a block up from the market and half a block from St. Paul Street. In addition to street parking, there is a paid parking lot directly across the street that still had many available spots when we left at 7pm on a Saturday night. Reservations are recommended, and by 6:00, the place was pretty much full. Would definitely recommend the food at The Office, but the lack of dairy substitute was a negative.

Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - 5pm to 12am
Thursday - 11:30am to 12am
Friday - 11:30 to 2am
Saturday - 5pm to 2am
Closed: Sundays, holidays

Seasons - St. Catharines

55 Carlisle Street, St. Catharines
950-688-6868
905-688-6861

Seasons

I don’t often think of a restaurant as being ‘fun’ (especially when you don't get any crayons), but Seasons is definitely that. At least for your first visit it is. The decor is clean and crisp and minimal, very Japanese feel. We were shown to a roomy booth and given an iPad menu. Here is where it got really cool, really fast.

The iPad menu, as you might gather, lists all of the dishes that are available, along with a descriptive photo. You can scroll through the items, which are categorized by course: appetizers, rice dishes, noodle dishes, sushi, nigiri, etc. You add a ‘plus 1’ (or however many you want), beside the dishes you want and when you are ready for round 1, you hit ‘check order’ to flag. At this point, a server comes around to confirm your order and submit it.

Within minutes, the courses that you have chosen begin to appear at your table. I started with seaweed salad (a favourite of mine no matter where we dine and certainly not a disappointment here), edamame, and spring rolls. The tempura batter contained milk so that was a category that was off limits to me. No matter, lots of other choices.

I also enjoyed the vegetable curry with rice, sautéed mushrooms (very garlicky, very delicious), udon noodles with vegetables (veggies were delicious, wasn’t a fan of udon noodles as it turns out). Then we moved onto the sushi and I tried the cucumber and avocado rolls, as well as the mushroom rolls. Both of the sushi were phenomenal - so fresh, the rice was plump and just the perfect amount of sticky.

For dessert, I actually ordered two more spring rolls, and felt delightfully mischievous about it. I didn’t check to see if any of the desserts were vegan, but upon looking at the menu now, there are none. Perhaps the only downfall of the restaurant for a plant-based eater.

The pricing is an all-you-can-eat price of $27.95, tax included. Drink pricing was reasonable at less than $6 per glass of wine or beer. The service is exceptional. The table is cleared almost immediately upon you creating an empty dish. To start we were given chopsticks. I do not have any trouble using them but my dining partner was struggling. Without having to ask, suddenly a knife and fork appeared for him to use. Attentive and intuitive.

Let’s talk washrooms. Um, let me say that the washroom was very clean but in rough shape - chipped tiles, rusting spots on doors, super tight stalls, broken soap dispensers. Not fabulous at all.

Parking turned out to be very difficult at 5:30 on a Saturday night. The two lots that we passed were full and the street parking was tight as well. We finally lucked out after driving around the block a few times and found a street spot a couple of blocks away.

We made reservations that seemed laughable at 5:30, but by 6:30 when we left, there was a line out the door. Better safe than sorry I would suggest.

They also have a takeout menu and free delivery on orders over $30.

Hours:
Mon to Thurs, and Sun: 11:30am-10pm
Fri to Sat: 11:30am-10:30pm

How to Connect:
Website
Phone: 905-688-6868, 905-688-6861

The Vegan Hippie Chick - St. Catharines

54 Church Street
St. Catharines, ON
905-978-1536

Mandy, the Vegan Hippie Chick, is an absolute doll. I know, I know, that shouldn’t matter when we’re talking about eating vegan, but it had to be said. I met her at the Sweet Street Cafe located in the St. Catharines library building, and she made me the best lunch. If you enter from the James Street side, the cafe is right there, housed in a greenhouse-like vestibule that is airy and light (see below). Check out the cute cafe-style table and chairs in the photo above. Adorable.

The Sweet Street Cafe has other offerings, but Mandy takes care of the vegan items. Today there were veggie wraps, eggless salad sandwiches, and raw protein balls. I opted for the sandwich and, ahem, balls. Wowza. That’s what I am actually going to say about it - wowza.

The sandwich was on the freshest of bread and full of flavour. The not-so-secret ingredient is chick peas. I’ve made this at home, but not nearly as delicious as this one. The protein balls came in pumpkin, walnut and almond. Of course I had to have one of each. These were sweet without being sickening and really filled me up. I was only able to eat two, and saved the other one for later. I also had a coffee with soy milk. It was exceptionally good. I wished I had bought the larger size.

The menu changes so it’s best to check her Facebook page for the daily specials and when she will be at the cafe. Typically she is there most days, but her schedule can vary.

Parking is street as well as several lots in the area, one right at the library, underground parking at the library, and the market lot. I didn’t have any trouble finding a spot at noon on a weekday, $1.50/hour.

Washrooms were the library washrooms; sparse, utilitarian, but very clean.

In addition to the cafe menu, Mandy also has a catering branch, and she also sets up a space at the St. Catharines market (typically Thursday and Saturday). Her catering menu includes appetizers (zucchini fritters, stuffed mushrooms), burgers (quinoa, lentil), flat breads, salads (caesar, creamy potato), soups (potato leek, quinoa minestrone), mains (lasagna, shepherd’s pie), savoury pies (tortierre), and sweets. Oh my, the list of sweets is amazing: brownies, cakes, croissants, pies, cookies, and muffins. Plus, she will deliver for free in the Niagara region on all orders over $150.


How To Connect:
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Eating Vegan in Niagara

As many of us plant-based eaters know, it can be difficult and sometimes intimidating to figure out what to eat when you're dining out. Is the rice made with chicken stock? Are the potatoes fried in lard? Does the deep fryer for the fries do the calamari as well? Additionally, it can be tricky to find restaurants to accommodate both us and our omnivore friends and family members.

Because of this, I wanted to create a place to talk about restaurants in the Niagara region that aren't strictly vegan. Obviously, we can all find something amazing to eat in vegan joints like Rise Above (swoon) or Hippocrates' Daughter (yum), but what about regular restaurants.

This is a real beginner list, but I will be adding to it all the time. Part of the notes will be experiences that I have personally had at a particular restaurant, what I ate, and what I learned about other options. Another part will involve me calling and speaking with representatives from restaurants and posting their suggestions as to what vegans can eat.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or suggestions. I hope that you get something out of these reviews and that perhaps your experiences while dining in Niagara are just a little bit easier.

With compassion,
Terry Cohoe

Apologies for the under construction aspect of this blog. I'll get it figured out asap. :)